Telecom-policy czars delete crucial line, fool PM and nation

Thanks to Gen VK Singh’s revelations, the role played by lobbyists, especially those working for foreign-equipment manufacturers, in defence procurement is now a matter of open public debate. The length to which some foreign suppliers can go to take on those who have interests of India at heart has been exposed. Also exposed, to an extent, is the involvement of powerful individuals in India whose actions show their allegiance to foreign firms, indeed nations, rather than their own nation.

As I am about to show here, such anti-national individuals in important positions in the country are not limited to defence purchases alone.

Remember the Draft National Telecom Policy that was released by the powerful Union communications minister Kapil Sibal in October, 2011? The document made those lofty mission statements that the new policy must strive to achieve and stressed the need to build/develop/promote indigenous technology in this strategic sector, as most of the developed world does. I had talked about these pious platitudes in a post then – National telecom Vision/Policy/Mission: Lies, lies and lies.

Since then, powerful lobbies have been at work and the draft has undergone some modifications and the one that is close to being declared the government’s policy is a far cry from some of the stated missions. But over a period, as I studied other documents that would go into making India a ‘force to be reckoned with’ in telecom technology, the real shenanigans emerge. They seem outrageous and brazen.

In March/April 2011, the government put up on its official website the Draft National Frequency Allocation Plan (NFAP) – 2011. As you all know, frequency, or spectrum is that finite resource which is necessary for mobile connectivity and this is the resource that all operators fight over. After all, this 2G scam was nothing but the spectrum for 2G services.

In line with the government’s stated objective of promoting indigenous technology, the Draft NFAP made some heartening noises. In particular, the two about promoting Indian technology were:

1. Requirements of micro cellular wireless access systems (fixed/mobile) based on TDD access techniques, especially indigenously developed technologies and low power digital cordless telephone systems and devices with maximum transmit power of 250MW, capable of coexistence with multiple operators may be considered in the frequency band 1880-1900 MHz may be considered subject to coordination on a case-by-case basis.

2. The frequency band 1900-1910 MHZ paired with 1980-1990 MHz may also be considered for cellular telecom systems especially for indigenously developed systems and technologies for coordination on a case-by-case basis subject to availability of spectrum in these bands and after ensuring compatibility for coexistence with the systems operating in the frequency bands 1920-1980 MHz paired with 2110-2170 MHz

There was just one issue with these points. There is no spectrum available in the bandwidth mentioned in Point No 1. Therefore, saying that indigenous technology would be the preferred choice is fooling everyone, for it cannot be used. Point No 2, however, showed promise, for it could have helped a bevy of Indian manufacturers who have been fighting with the government to give them preference in procurement.

The file with the Draft recommendations lay with the secretary, department of telecommunication, for six months before the final NFAP was made public, in September 2011. It is a voluminous document and a cursory reading of the entire document and compared with the Draft would normally make the well-meaning Indian feel good.

But a closer and careful look revealed the shenanigans that went behind the scenes during these intervening six months that the secretary sat on the file. In a shocking case of what can only be termed as cheating even the nation’s Prime Minister, who has been advocating use of indigenous technology for telecom for as long as one can remember (refer to the link to my post given above to see details), the sentence – especially for indigenously developed systems and technologies – has been deleted.

Whoever did it must have thought no one will notice if a seemingly innocuous line is quietly deleted. But if one knows the impact this one line will have on future procurements, one thing is clear: It isn’t a case of simple oversight or a mistake. It is a wilful act and given that it is against national interest, it is nothing short of treason.

It is easy to figure out who all worked on the draft before it was finalised. So that person needs to be booked for anti-national activities for sure. But one also needs to go deeper into it and see who all influenced this man’s decision to carry out such an act. I am sure that will make public some names who strut around as veritable saints.

PS:In a subsequent post I would also bring out the games being played with the National Telecom Policy being readied, the draft of which was revealed in October, 2011.

Author

Rajesh Kalra is the Chief Editor of Times Internet and business head for the non-English languages properties. A journalist for two decades, he also tried his hands at entrepreneurship in between. Although he has written on several subjects, he has a weakness for IT and telecommunications. He is an avid sportsman, a trained high-altitude mountaineer, a passionate mountain biker and a marathoner. His blog, Random Access, will cover issues that take into account these varied interests.
Follow @rajeshkalra on Twitter

Rajesh Kalra is the Chief Editor of Times Internet and business head for the non-English languages properties. A journalist for two decades, he also tried h. . .

Telecom-policy czars delete crucial line, fool PM and nation

Thanks to Gen VK Singh’s revelations, the role played by lobbyists, especially those working for foreign-equipment manufacturers, in defence procurement is now a matter of open public debate. The length to which some foreign suppliers can go to take on those who have interests of India at heart has been exposed. Also exposed, to an extent, is the involvement of powerful individuals in India whose actions show their allegiance to foreign firms, indeed nations, rather than their own nation.

As I am about to show here, such anti-national individuals in important positions in the country are not limited to defence purchases alone.

Remember the Draft National Telecom Policy that was released by the powerful Union communications minister Kapil Sibal in October, 2011? The document made those lofty mission statements that the new policy must strive to achieve and stressed the need to build/develop/promote indigenous technology in this strategic sector, as most of the developed world does. I had talked about these pious platitudes in a post then – National Telecom Policy: Lip service again.

Since then, powerful lobbies have been at work and the draft has undergone some modifications and the one that is close to being declared the government’s policy is a far cry from some of the stated missions. But over a period, as I studied other documents that would go into making India a ‘force to be reckoned with’ in telecom technology, the real shenanigans emerge. They seem outrageous and brazen.

In March/April 2011, the government put up on its official website the Draft National Frequency Allocation Plan (NFAP) – 2011. As you all know, frequency, or spectrum is that finite resource which is necessary for mobile connectivity and this is the resource that all operators fight over. After all, this 2G scam was nothing but the spectrum for 2G services.

In line with the government’s stated objective of promoting indigenous technology, the Draft NFAP made some heartening noises. In particular, the two about promoting Indian technology were:

1. Requirements of micro cellular wireless access systems (fixed/mobile) based on TDD access techniques, especially indigenously developed technologies and low power digital cordless telephone systems and devices with maximum transmit power of 250MW, capable of coexistence with multiple operators may be considered in the frequency band 1880-1900 MHz may be considered subject to coordination on a case-by-case basis.

2. The frequency band 1900-1910 MHZ paired with 1980-1990 MHz may also be considered for cellular telecom systems especially for indigenously developed systems and technologies for coordination on a case-by-case basis subject to availability of spectrum in these bands and after ensuring compatibility for coexistence with the systems operating in the frequency bands 1920-1980 MHz paired with 2110-2170 MHz

There was just one issue with these points. There is no spectrum available in the bandwidth mentioned in Point No 1. Therefore, saying that indigenous technology would be the preferred choice is fooling everyone, for it cannot be used. Point No 2, however, showed promise, for it could have helped a bevy of Indian manufacturers who have been fighting with the government to give them preference in procurement.

The file with the Draft recommendations lay with the secretary, department of telecommunication, for six months before the final NFAP was made public, in September 2011. It is a voluminous document and a cursory reading of the entire document and compared with the Draft would normally make the well-meaning Indian feel good.

But a closer and careful look revealed the shenanigans that went behind the scenes during these intervening six months that the secretary sat on the file. In a shocking case of what can only be termed as cheating even the nation’s Prime Minister, who has been advocating use of indigenous technology for telecom for as long as one can remember (refer to the link to my post given above to see details), the sentence – especially for indigenously developed systems and technologies – has been deleted.

Whoever did it must have thought no one will notice if a seemingly innocuous line is quietly deleted. But if one knows the impact this one line will have on future procurements, one thing is clear: It isn’t a case of simple oversight or a mistake. It is a wilful act and given that it is against national interest, it is nothing short of treason.

It is easy to figure out who all worked on the draft before it was finalised. So that person needs to be booked for anti-national activities for sure. But one also needs to go deeper into it and see who all influenced this man’s decision to carry out such an act. I am sure that will make public some names who strut around as veritable saints.

PS:In a subsequent post I would also bring out the games being played with the National Telecom Policy being readied, the draft of which was revealed in October, 2011.

Author

Rajesh Kalra is the Chief Editor of Times Internet and business head for the non-English languages properties. A journalist for two decades, he also tried his hands at entrepreneurship in between. Although he has written on several subjects, he has a weakness for IT and telecommunications. He is an avid sportsman, a trained high-altitude mountaineer, a passionate mountain biker and a marathoner. His blog, Random Access, will cover issues that take into account these varied interests.
Follow @rajeshkalra on Twitter

Rajesh Kalra is the Chief Editor of Times Internet and business head for the non-English languages properties. A journalist for two decades, he also tried h. . .

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Author

Rajesh Kalra is the Chief Editor of Times Internet and business head for the non-English languages properties. A journalist for two decades, he also tried his hands at entrepreneurship in between. Although he has written on several subjects, he has a weakness for IT and telecommunications. He is an avid sportsman, a trained high-altitude mountaineer, a passionate mountain biker and a marathoner. His blog, Random Access, will cover issues that take into account these varied interests.
Follow @rajeshkalra on Twitter

Rajesh Kalra is the Chief Editor of Times Internet and business head for the non-English languages properties. A journalist for two decades, he also tried h. . .